Kier's new fleet of emulsion road sprayers have been christened by school children from across the UK.

Kier Highways Solutions – a surface treatments provider and bitumen manufacturer which is part of Kier Group – visited four primary schools in Chesterfield, Norwich, Bristol and Worthing with its new fleet of Eden Sprayers and asked students to come up with names for the vehicles.

They have been named: Spongebob Spraypants, Sophie the Spectacular Sprayer, Marnie the Magnificent Sprayer and Suzie the Super Sprayer.

The youngsters were taught about the 26 tonne vehicles, which have cutting edge technology, and how they are used to keep the highways network safe by spraying bituminous emulsion onto the road before applying stone. They enjoyed sitting in the cab and pressing the horn, before taking part in interactive workshops led by Kier, learning about how the business maintains, protects, and preserves the highway network in the UK.

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The Eden Sprayers, which were introduced to the fleet earlier this year, are custom-specified road emulsion sprayers. They are fitted with advanced technology and safety features that prioritise the safety of road workers and road users. These features include direct vision technology, a two-step entry design, electronics to monitor tyre pressures and wheel nut tightness, and spray bars that are controlled automatically by a series of radar sensors.

Lee Draper, general manager, Kier Highways Solutions, said: "We really enjoyed visiting all the pupils across the country. They are our next generation of employees, so it’s important we have opportunities like this to teach them about different careers in industries like highways.

"We think the names they have chosen for our vehicles are great. We’d like to thank all the children who entered the competition; there were some fantastic suggestions."

This year, Kier Highways Solutions will carry out c. 4.2m sqm of surface dressing using 7,635t of emulsion that it manufactures in its dedicated factory in Wymondham.

To learn about Kier’s commitment to social value, please visit:https://www.kier.co.uk/sustainability/